1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sorting apparatus, and more particularly to a compact sorting apparatus that can invert a recorded sheet to a face-down attitude allowing for discharge to one of a plurality of trays.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An example of a conventional sorting apparatus, a sorting apparatus used widely as a post-processing apparatus for recorded sheets in a photocopier. A plurality of trays for sorting and housing recorded sheets is generally arranged in a plurality of levels in a vertical direction and each recorded sheet is successively discharged to those trays by means such as moving either paper discharge openings at each tray entry or a single sheet discharge opening together with the upward and downward movement of a tray itself toward a tray entry formed between trays.
A conventional sorting apparatus, however, has been arranged so that the trays maintain a predetermined interval in a vertical direction in a fixed stacked condition, and each of the trays is supported in an inclined, protruding position in the discharge direction of the recorded sheet, so that a large overall size and height was unavoidable. Furthermore, when the recorded sheets were housed in the trays, an order in which they were stacked was in the opposite page order of an original document, thereby producing the inconvenience of having to restack the recorded sheets in order to sort a recorded document having a plurality of pages.
With the more widespread use of medium-sized photocopiers in recent years, it has become desirable to develop a sorting apparatus for this type of photocopier which is compact, and which offers greater ease of use to an operator.